F-35 Heritage Flt Team

Luke Air Force Base

Located west of Phoenix, Luke Air Force Base is home to the 56th Fighter Wing, the largest FW in the world and the Air Force’s only active-duty F-16 training wing. As part of Air Education and Training Command, and home to 23 squadrons with both F-35A Lightning II aircraft and F-16s, the 56th graduates more than 400 F-16 pilots and 300 air control professionals annually. The wing is also responsible for three additional squadrons under the 54th Fighter Group located at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, where F-16 training will move as Luke AFB transitions to become the sole pilot training center for the F-35A, the Air Force’s newest multi-role aircraft. Additionally, the 56th Fighter Wing oversees the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field and is steward of the Barry M. Goldwater Range, a military training range spanning more than 1.7 million acres of Sonoran desert.